ATMA of the Lion
by darkwingeduriel
Summary: A short story for the ATMA farming victims, hope it gives you new strength on your quest!


01

"...and hear me well brighteyes, if you can get used to this pestilent twelvedamned vapors from the mining grounds you can get used to bloody anything, even the revolting smell of Ul'dah streets!"

I hear Commander Bloeidin talking with the new face, and judging from the awkward laugh that followed, the fresh blood didn't know if the tall bearded seawolf was joking or serious. We all knew he had transferred from Thanalan's jewel.

The Red Swallows are a very particular crew. They were pirates not too long ago, and very good ones at that, but left the salty life to join the Maelstrom forces on land, where they were most needed. As I walk through the tents on my way out of the camp I exchange smiles and shrugs with Private F'majha about the Commander's welcoming habits. If there is a Swallow that misses the deep blue waves they had to give up in exchange for an honest life it has to be her; not a single day goes by without the young private telling a story or two exalting the most romantic aspects of the long gone days of treasure and glory. My guess is she had just joined the ranks when they decided to accept the Maelstrom's offer.

As soon as you leave Camp Overlook, you find sense in the name. The outpost is located atop a cliff just a rock's throw from the Kobold mining sites. As I descend to the vantage post I can see dozens of little lumpy figures hard at work near the entrance of the U'Ghamaro Mines, using their pickaxes and shovels with such efficiency that even the most seasoned of the disciples of the hand would feel self-conscious about their skills.

The Kobolds are not a violent bunch. I would dare to say they're the most civilized among the beast tribes. Their technology is half a century ahead of their Amalj'aa and Sylph counterparts, and the way they treat the materials they dig reminds you of the subtle ways of a clock maker. Stories tell it's the kobold's belief that their ore is a gift from god, and they seek to divine the teachings of Titan through their metallurgy and alchemy.

Unfortunately, and as is true of all generalizations, not all kobolds are more interested in enlightenment than in blood, and that's precisely why I'm here. One of Camp Overlook's responsabilities includes the effort for peaceful cohabitation with the kobold tribes that was possible thanks to Limsa Lominsa signing the treaty for mining rights. In this agreement the dig sites are fairly distributed among the interested parties. But there are still greedy individuals unhappy with how the lines were drawn, and the kobold Be Ze falls in this category.

Be Ze is infamous for ruthlessly exploiting mineral deposits of all their resources, leaving them barren for all those who come to O'Ghomoro in search of ore and it's the Red Swallow's job to teach the selfish beastman the lesson that Hydaelyn's bounty is meant for all Her children. Or it should be, but their hands are so full with protocol, which until recently was a strange and foreign concept to them, that the need arose to outsource to the adventurers of Eorzea; not that you would hear me complain about it... except maybe just about those times among the green ponds of the mining sites, when I feel my stomach turn each time the earth let's out one of those putrid sulphur fumes the Commander loves to joke about.

02

Twilight falls over La Noscea and I hear a commotion very close to the furnaces of the 789th Order dig, our closest neighbors at Camp Overlook. I can see sparks flying about and I hear the despair in the growling of the Kobolds as I ride as fast as my mount can run. It takes me five minutes to get all the way down to the site, and by the time I'm there, it's already too late. All the magnificent burners, stoves, kilns... all torn down to pieces or severely damaged. Everything in the forge is beyond salvaging, and I see the culprits laughing impishly behind their iron masks as they terrorize their pacifist cousins. I will not tolerate this. I give my map to my chocobo after quickly marking my whereabouts and I send her to the camp, urging her to go as fast as she can. I know she will.

One of the little devils is just about to brand an innocent kobold miner with a red hot dagger when I smash it's head from behind with my shield. These filth don't deserve an honorable fight, they didn't see me approach, and I take advantage of it. I ask the kobold I just helped if he can fight, but I already know the answer: the 789th order doesn't fight. I'm sure there's not a single weapon in their vast tool inventory.

I know what I have to do, I tell him to run and as I unsheathe my sword I summon the strength of the twelve and I vow to them that not a single one of these demons will evade my blade. Their bright eyes shine behind the visors of their helms, and my wrath explodes in a circle of scorn.

03

He is here. Be Ze is here, and he is laughing at me. His axe is as bloody as his eyes, and as I realize he doesn't care about his fallen bedesmen any more than he cares about the Kobolds he fell himself, I lock my eyes with his and we start looking for an opening in our stances. The remaining members of the 789th have all crawled into a corner and whisper in frightened prayers to Titan, only that monster and I are still on our feet.

We clash our weapons two, three times, and we fall back again. We repeat this dance a couple of times. He is a seasoned assassin, he has the patience to strike when the reward is greatest, I'm afraid my blood is not as cold. He taunts me with quick slashes, he slithers and scurries, Be Ze fights like a family of snakes with one mind, he is a viscious predator.

Suddenly I realize, his eyes are focused on my shield, he knows he would be at a disadvantage if he were to go all out because of my added protection and he is right. I can't hide the smile that curls on one side of my face as I strike suddenly with my shield and as expected he tries to disarm me using the momentum of the impact, succeeding; my shield falls a few meters away, his eyes grow two times bigger and the kobold laughs like a maniac and charges at me. I have no shield now, but I have Hydaelyn's blessings, and his axe doesn't know that.

I cast a protection spell around me, my white magic is weak but it can perfectly withstand at least one of his blows. As his axe bounces on my divine shield I aim at his heart, his arms forced upwards by the sheer strenght of his own attack let my sword slide right in between the plates of his armor. A single drop of crimson blood runs across my blade, I strike something hard inside the body of the kobold. I feel my surprise is greater than his, as he madly laughs his life away drunk on the liquor of battle, his body falls to the naked ground, my sword stuck to his chest.

The 789th order surrounds us, coming closer with slow and cautious movements and after seeing the last light fade from Ba Ze's eyes, they detonate in cheers and glee as they thank me for my intervention.

"Titan put you in our path this day!"

04

I found something inside Ba Ze's body, in the place where his heart should have been. It's a little orange pebble made of a crystaline material I have never seen before, and somehow there's a symbol in the middle, a strange symbol that reminds me of a lion's mane.

I'm no longer with the Red Swallows. I'm on my way to Gridania, where there's rumour of a man who can tell me more about this little stone. I think it has to do with the ravenous thirst for blood that consumed Ba Ze, and I'm determined to find out if there's more of these strange crystals before they consume any more souls.


End file.
